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It was a criminal act to liquidate Zambia Airways - KK

It was a criminal act to liquidate Zambia Airways - KK
By Brighton Phiri
Wednesday January 30, 2008 [14:45]

It was a criminal act for former president Frederick Chiluba to liquidate Zambia Airways, Dr Kenneth Kaunda has said. In an interview, Dr Kaunda said his tour of duty to campaign for Inonge Mbukusita-Lewanika in West Africa reminded him of Chiluba's criminal act of liquidating Zambia Airways. And Dr Kaunda said Mbikusita-Lewanika was best suited for the position of African Union (AU) Commission chairperson. Meanwhile, Women for Change executive director Emily Sikazwe has said Mbikusita-Lewanika was capable of doing Africa proud.

Dr Kaunda said his recent trip to Burkina Faso to solicit support for Mbikusita-Lewanika's candidature could have been much cheaper if his campaign team used Zambia Airways plane to fly directly to Ouagadougou to meet leaders of the Economic Commission of West African States (ECOWAS).

"It was indeed painful in my mind when I was in the air flying to West Africa. In fact, I began to feel the pain from here when I was told that we were to fly to Ouagadougou where ECOWAS leaders were meeting and that our flight schedule would start from Lusaka via Johannesburg to the far North before coming back to our African continent.

That forcefully reminded me of Zambia Airways," Dr Kaunda said. " It took us about 18 hours to reach Ouagadougou. You can imagine how much that campaign cost us as a country in terms of time. Really, that man (Chiluba) has a criminal mind. There is no other way of calling him."

Dr Kaunda said his trip revealed more about Africa's poverty and how Chiluba contributed to it. He said it was unacceptable and painful for Zambians to be subjected to long travel and costly routes when they could have been enjoying short and cheap flights using their own national airline. Dr Kaunda wondered why Chiluba chose to liquidate a viable airline with assets worth more than its debt.

"We used to fly to America and around the continent. That is why we got those planes. Many Liberian women used Zambia Airways to transport their goods to the America. Zambia Airways was not only our airline but was also used by others on the continent. But for the hatred of one man, he decided to destroy such type of investment," Dr Kaunda said.

" In fact, one of my young men who served in his government as vice-president, Godfrey Miyanda, once told me that Cabinet was opposed to the liquidation of Zambia Airways. He told me that the country was opposed to that. He said he was among the people that told Cabinet that Zambia Airways debt was not equivalent to the value of its property. This confirms the criminal mind of this man (Chiluba)."

Dr Kaunda said Chiluba should be blamed for the liquidation of Zambia Airways as it resulted into loss of human life and trained staff. He charged that Chiluba's criminal actions delayed the country's development progression in measurable terms.

"Each time I remembered Zambia Airways, I became very annoyed indeed because some of our well-dressed and clean airhostesses, looking beautiful, perished as they could not stand the starvation," Dr Kaunda said. "For him to decide to go to London deliberately and decide to do away with Zambia Airways...and directs some one who is opposed to announce the liquidation, that is criminal."

But Chiluba yesterday defended his decision to liquidate Zambia Airways. Speaking through his spokesperson Emmanuel Mwamba, Chiluba said unlike him, Dr Kaunda failed to take difficult decisions because he was politically weak.

"The decision to liquidate Zambia Airways was a business decision done in the interest of Zambians. Harsh and difficult decisions had to be made one day. Dr Kaunda postponed that decision for 27 years. He feared political repercussion and realised that his one party regime was sitting on a clay seat," Chiluba said. "Dr Kaunda kept on making popularist decisions that were detrimental to the economic development of the country."

Chiluba said his decision to liquidate Zambia Airways and other parastatals was supported by many progressive economists, IMF, World Bank and donor community. He said the economic growth, which Zambia was currently recording, was due to his hard and difficult decisions.

Asked about Brigadier General Miyanda's revelation that the decision to liquidate Zambia Airways was not supported by Cabinet and the country, Chiluba said: "Gen Miyanda as an individual opposed the liquidation of Zambia Airways, but the Cabinet voted for it."

Chiluba said at the time of its liquidation, Zambia Airways had accrued debt which was beyond its capacity to pay back. He said the national treasury could not sustain the luxury of Zambia Airways using taxpayers' money.

Chiluba said both himself and Dr Kaunda scored successes and made mistakes during their rein. He said he recognised the fact that there were casualties to his decisions such as job loses.

On his trip to Ouagadougou, Dr Kaunda - who was accompanied by Mbikusita-Lewanika, explained that his team travelled not as invited guests of ECOWAS but that they went there to beg for time to meet ECOWAS leaders separately over Zambia's AU Commission candidate.

"It was indeed an honour for me to have been allowed to witness the official opening of their summit," Dr Kaunda said.

Dr Kaunda said he was able to meet the host country's Prime Minister, Liberian President, Gambian Vice-President and Cape Verde Island foreign affairs minister, among others.

"What is wonderful is that the young lady (Mbikusita-Lewanika) is quite popular among the international civil society organisations," Dr Kaunda said. "We are very hopeful that President Mwanawasa has made the right choice and she will be chosen."

Dr Kaunda observed that ECOWAS seemed more focused on their developmental agendas than SADC countries.

"I think they are faster than us in SADC and keen about their desires," he said.

And Sikazwe said Mbikusita-Lewanika would contribute to peace building in Africa if chosen to the lead the AU commission.

"We at Women for Change and the women movement in Zambia, we wish Dr. Inonge Mbikusita-Lewanika good luck because we know she is capable of doing Africa and Zambia proud," Sikazwe said. "We know that her victory will be for all African women. Above all she is a God fearing woman and she has contributed greatly to poverty reduction in Africa."

Labels: AU, CHILUBA, INONGE MBIKUSITA-LEWANIKA, KENNETH KAUNDA, ZAMBIAN AIRWAYS

posted by MrK @ 7:29 PM